Need Juice? Grab a Stick

Feb 3, 2010 by Nelly

I’m one of those people relies on technology in almost every facet of my Monday-to-Friday life. I’m online working, collaborating, sharing, blogging, editing, shopping, shipping, illustrating and processing.

When my devices run out of juice, my adrenaline levels go up. Not the fun “surfing” type of rush though, but more like the I’ve-just-send-a-nasty-email-to-my-boss-by-accident. Back in the old days, i.e. a year ago, I would actually carry a few cords to charge my iPhone, camera, work Blackberry and several little mini USB connectors.My fabulous girl bags were turned bags that carried big wire balls. Looking for an Optimum card at checkout was always a fun experience; I’d pull out the chords, keys, phone #1, phone #2, backup day planner, stale Special K bar and finally get to the sleeve wallet that contained all the plastics. I did look a little like one of those As-Seen-On-TV ads that try to sell you a pack-it-all (ugly) solution.

Sometime last year, I noticed some buzz going on with the Ottawa Twitterati about the Powerstick. Some googling and a Future Shop outing allowed me to acquire the stick.

At first glance, it did look like one of those home pregnancy devices. The name also made me giggle a bit. “Power stick you say? That’s what she said!”

Alas, the little Ottawa made device is a space and sanity saver. It basically charges off your laptop/computer’s USB slot for about 40 mins to an hour. Then you use one of the attachments it comes with to charge some of the commonly used devices. It has Apple, Blackberry, Sony, LG, Palm and mini USB connectors to charge these gizmos. So within an hour, I charge my drained iPhone then recharge this stick thing, back to my Nikon cam that runs off the Powerstick, and so on and so forth.

Key cool facts about this awesome find of mine: It’s made in Canada (and Ottawa to boot!), eco friendly and it’s global. No wall chargers, lame batteries or their lumpy recharges. Wherever a USB exists*, the potential to recharge exists! Plus, it fits in your palm and the little device extensions are short too, so you’re not taking up lots of space.

The awesome contraption sells for $49.99 U.S. – as advertised on their site. [I found it as low as $29.99 Canadian at Pure Mobile, and twice as much (at least) around Future Shop. I don't know who does their currency conversions, but it's something they'll need to look into soon. By the way, Pure Mobile has a nifty video to explain the Powerstick].

So my tech-advice to you is: get the Canadian-made product, rid your bag of the extra baggage and just shout “go go “gadget” Powerstick!” when you need more juice. Works for me, every time.